Ooohh...I am very interested in more info as well. I had no idea that could be done!

why dont you just experiment with some smaller pieces and see how it goes? nothing teaches like experience! I would suggest using a toaster oven you dont plan to use with food anymore. I used mine and still have fumes coming out! the chemicals from plactics adhear to the sides and elements of the stove forevermore!

I used mine and still have fumes coming out! the chemicals from plactics adhear to the sides and elements of the stove forevermore!

Oooohhh, Ryan's gonna be in BIG trouble now - he ruined the stove!! Good thing he's got that little tin-can stove in his backpack - but it'll be a challenge to cook Easter ham with THAT!!!

Holy cow! I didn't have enough shavings for a big pan, so I tried what I had in a cupcake tin. It makes a perfectly round piece that fits PERFECTLY in the small round Lock and Locks!! Ryan, you are a genius!

What's this?

You can melt down pieces of pink to make a new sheet?

I keep all my scraps cause you just never know if you can use them...

I did not let Ryan use our big oven, he used his toaster oven for all tests. We did try melting in a pot on the stove top, but Ryan found that the baking option worked better (it came out smoother in the pan---pouring from a pot into the pan was messier)

-Amanda from Seattle

I have a question of my own...

How hungry do you need to be to actually EAT this stuff?

I did not let Ryan use our big oven, he used his toaster oven for all tests. We did try melting in a pot on the stove top, but Ryan found that the baking option worked better (it came out smoother in the pan---pouring from a pot into the pan was messier)

You know you're a letterbox junkie when you start cookin' your product at home...

;)

i am excited to try this as well....

i make a lot of stuff out of fimo/sculpey polymer clay of which the fumes give me headaches. i bought a cheap toaster oven for this that i don't use for food.

i also bake my polymer clay outside on a porch so i don't create any yucky fumes in the house, i would totally do the same thing for this project. Who knows what toxic stuff is in the pink stuff when you heat it up....

california bluefrog

where is the link for the tutorial? I mean,,,,the stove is already ruined!

Noooooo! Don't eat the Stuff

Green Tortuga = Walter White.
I'll wait for the blue stuff. :)

What do your thoughts on using something like a food prcessor to chop up the pieces of leftover material - do you think it would work? Maybe even chilling or freezing the rubber before putting them in?

I've been saving all our scraps right from the beginning. The only problem is that I've thrown them all in together, and there's all sorts in there - pink stuff, fk, mz, nz, oz - so in order to do this, I'd have to really chop up and mix all that stuff.

I missed this thread at first--this board isn't actually marked as one of my favorite. =) But keep in mind I've only done this a small handful of times so there's still a lot about the process that I don't know! Your results may vary!

But to answer your questions....

How thick do you spread the pieces and how thick do you aim for the final piece to be? Is it more likely to burn if too thin?

I just tried the "normal" thickness of pink stuff more-or-less. Thinner and it's too easy to break in half. Thicker and you're just wasting carving material!

Some of my pieces are rejects because of a poor transfer (yes, on both sides.) Will the transfer-some pencil, some acetone, some stamped with Staz-on mustard yellow-will this affect the baked piece?

I can't say for certain. My shreds had bits of pencil and even ink when I tested a stamp then carved more out, but there wasn't a lot. I never recycled old, poorly-transferred material.

Can you stir the baked piece and return to oven, or is the consistency too thick?

Yes, you can do this. Just stir slowly, though, so you aren't generating new bubbles.

I used mine and still have fumes coming out! the chemicals from plactics adhear to the sides and elements of the stove forevermore!

What kind of carving material did you use? I didn't notice any particular problem with the pink stuff. Actually, one time Amanda got back from work and told me the place smelled like strawberries!

Holy cow! I didn't have enough shavings for a big pan, so I tried what I had in a cupcake tin. It makes a perfectly round piece that fits PERFECTLY in the small round Lock and Locks!!

I sense a little sarcasm in this post, Mr. I've Never Planted a Letterbox in My Life. But yet, I find myself intrigued with the idea.... =)

Green Tortuga = Walter White.
I'll wait for the blue stuff. :)

Ha! Except my formula is legal. =)

What do your thoughts on using something like a food prcessor to chop up the pieces of leftover material - do you think it would work?

Don't see why not if that's what you want to try. I haven't done it, though, so you'll be in uncharted waters.

Maybe even chilling or freezing the rubber before putting them in?

Is that supposed to help the food processor chop through it all? I'd probably let it thaw out before sticking them into the toaster oven, though.

Is that all of the questions? Whew! =)

-- Ryan

Is anyone else concerned that he posted this "tutorial" just prior to a certain day in April?

Hoping to get a bunch of people bent by Monday?

I consider toaster ovens disposable. They are cheap, the racks and pans that come with them are never stainless steel so they always start rusting soon, and they're virtually impossible to clean the inside. So, I just use one for a coupla years until it gets too grungy to use any more, then I throw it away and buy another.

Actually, one time Amanda got back from work and told me the place smelled like strawberries!

Hey, there's an idea: Only do this when the ol' lady is out, and toss a Pop-Tart in there at the same time. Throw the Pop-Tart out when done, it'll probably be toxic, but it'll make the place smell like you've been behaving.

toss a Pop-Tart in there at the same time

i think you missed this part of the process: "350* for 45 min . . . then return it to the oven for another 45 min. . ."

Poptart + 350 at 90 min = cinders. It will not smell like you've been behaving. it will smell like you need the Fire Dept.

~tigs(not an engineer, just a mom)

Actually, most of these answers I provided are a heaping pile of you-know-what. April Fools! =)

http://blog.atlasquest.com/2013/04/the-great-hoax-of-2013.html

-- Ryan

You said,

It took quite a few months to get enough shavings to have something to experiment with, though. And I'd get one test before I needed to wait a few more months before I had enough material to work another experiment.

I didn't really have enough to experiment with properly either, so I decided to send you all my carving material shreds, so you could have enough to work with. Boxers could ensure you a bountiful supply :)

Then I looked up the melting point of rubber and found they vary across a wide range, but really outside the bountries of a toaster oven, no matter how magnificent.
But, I started wondering about pottery kilns. And blacksmith forges. If the temperature could be achieved , how critical is the range? Would it burn? What about Vulcanization?
I appreciate all the time Webfoot puts in working on the various incarnations of ?Z.
What is pink stuff made of anyway? So, I looked up the MSDS and found a list of ingredients comprising the synthetic polymer. Which would most likely denature if heated. Sigh.
But, what would that denaturing consist of? Become too brittle? What about dissolving it in a solvent instead of melting it? What...Oh, look, squirrel!

And what of the statement that Stamp Carving and Mounting board is not on your list of favorites? How could that be? Isn't that one of the moderators/owner's job descriptions, to read any and all boards? Oh, I suppose you think of yourself as Mr. Perfect, as well? Who needs tips on carving? LOL! Totally BS here, teasing.

actually, ive never melted stamp material only pony beads. also re the bubbles. I use a lighter (one fo the long ones) to pop the bubbles when i work with polyurethane, maybe that would work with the pink stuff. expand the air.

I noticed that margorie is covered in pink stuff....how many of her have you gone thru over the years? im sure she has gone thru many adventures.

I feel like I just read something from a Chemistry book I don't understand. ;o)

Un-bookmarking that post now....

I noticed that margorie is covered in pink stuff....how many of her have you gone thru over the years?

Marjorie is irreplaceable! I'd never do anything that would cause permanent damage to her! *nodding* =)

-- Ryan

Marjorie is irreplaceable! I'd never do anything that would cause permanent damage to her! *nodding* =)

Riiiiiight... that's what you said about Wassa Jr., too...

Riiiiiight... that's what you said about Wassa Jr., too...

That was a tragic accident, and have I replaced Wassa Jr? No, I have not! Because Wassa Jr is also irreplaceable! *nodding*

Wassa might be replaceable, though.... ;o)

-- Ryan

Wassa might be replaceable, though...

Be still, my beating heart. Oh, the unbounded joy that leaps through my soul at such a prospect!

Do not fail us in this, Dear Turtle. Do not fail.